Adding Protein To Your Pregnancy Diet

8.25.2015

Last week I went into my doctor's office to take the standard one hour glucose screening. Unfortunately, I received a call the next morning letting me know that I had failed the initial screening and would need to come back in for the three hour glucose test to determine if I was at risk for gestational diabetes. I was immediately put on a diet that eliminated processed sugars and cut down on carbohydrates. I was told to drink a lot of water throughout the day and to add extra protein into my diet. It certainly wasn't a fun phone call to receive, but I figured I could handle the new dietary restrictions for a week until I was re-tested.

It wasn't until I started meal planning later that afternoon that I realized just how little protein I was actually getting in my normal diet. If you have been following my pregnancy journey thus far, you know I haven't been able to handle the thought of chicken since my first trimester. Some days I think that maybe my chicken aversion is coming to an end, but two or three bites in and I can't handle it any longer. This has made it especially difficult to get the proper amount of protein in my diet.

One of the suggestions that my doctor made was to make sure I was adding healthy snacks filled with protein into my diet throughout the day. I realized that by adding a couple of protein-packed snacks into my day, I was not only adding important elements into my diet, but I was also feeling a lot better during the day. I immediately felt my energy level soar.

The only drawback for me is making sure I snack at the right times throughout the day. I'm always on the go, so it's not necessarily easy to throw together a snack at any given time. Thankfully I've been able to concur that hurdle with these ZonePerfect Perfectly Simple bars. I can throw a bar into my purse in the morning, and it's easy accessible when I need to stop and snack. The flavors are delicious, and each bar has 11g of protein! The extra protein and low calories not only make me feel better about what I'm eating, but they also keep me full and satisfied longer.